Writing software are well on their way to becoming a permanent addition to a writer’s toolbox. Whether they’re for paraphrasing, ideation, or complete creation, these tools have received much hype, especially with the rise of artificial intelligence.
One such tool is QuillBot, a paraphraser that uses AI and natural language processing to create readable and logical content. But with how unreliable AI currently is, can this tool live up to its hype when it comes to assisting writers?
What is QuillBot?
In simple terms, QuillBot is an article rewriter. You feed it your text, click on a button, and it remakes your text into something better, faster, and clearer. At least, it claims to be.
It uses natural language processing (NLP) algorithms to understand the context and meaning of a text. It is then able to offer suggestions, paraphrase sentences, and alternate word choices that retain the original intent of your text.
Apart from its main function, you can also use it as a summarizer, plagiarism checker, grammar checker, citation generator, and translator. With such capabilities, it seems to be positioning itself as an all-around writing aid.
Who is QuillBot for?
QuillBot’s pretty much for anyone in need of a paraphrasing tool, though it does market itself mostly to students, professional writers, and business people. However, it’s definitely not suited for everyone.
I can see its use for writers who deal with content and copy. It’ll be trickier to use for novelists though, especially speculative fiction writers who frequently use made-up and complex words. And the more complicated a topic is, the more risk there is of getting errors and nonsense.
Pricing
Here is how much QuillBot Premium currently costs in three different tiers:
- 8.33$ annually
- 13.33$ semi-annually
- 19.95$ monthly
QuillBot does have a free version, which I think is enough for most use cases—unless you need to do copious amounts of grammar checking or paraphrasing.
The main difference between the free and paid versions is that, with the latter, you get full access to each tool’s capabilities. However, some of them still have limits, just expanded. For example, the free version’s summarizer has a limit of 1200 words while the premium version goes up to 6000 words.
Features
Now that we have pricing out of the way, let’s talk about this AI tool’s many features.
1. Paraphrasing Tool
QuillBot’s main tool rearranges sentences and alters words and phrases to create new text that is still logical and understandable. You can further customize the results by choosing different speech styles, altering the frequency of synonyms, or deciding whether to shorten or expand your text.
It’s quite useful for editing wordy paragraphs, though it does veer off your text’s original meaning the more you add synonyms. It’s not perfect but can cut down the bulk of editing you need to do.
2. Grammar Checker
The grammar checker looks for grammatical errors and suggests corrections and alternatives. It is AI-powered and can detect grammatical nuances in American, Australian, British, and Canadian English.
I do think it’s a bit better than Microsoft Word’s built-in grammar checker but isn’t as good as other tools like ProWritingAid and Grammarly. The latter two just have more grammar features to play around with than QuillBot.
3. Plagiarism Checker
The plagiarism checker determines whether your text is plagiarized. It’ll be most useful for academics, online writers, and students.
However, both the free and paid versions are restricted to 20 pages a month. This might not be enough if you do a lot of writing.
Sure, you can purchase more pages if you need to, but if you’ve already availed of the premium version, it seems unfair to have to pay for more. That’s the equivalent of microtransactions in video games.
4. Co-writer
The co-writer is basically all the features combined into one with the added capability to research and write.
The research tab allows you to look up information and have it summarized. It’s a great way to quickly find the key points for a topic and integrate them into your text.
This tool also assists you in writing by offering suggestions based on what you’re feeding it.
5. Summarizer
The summarizer allows you to condense any text into its key points. It does this in two ways: by identifying key sentences and by creating a paragraph summarizing the whole thing.
Keep in mind though, the free version has a limit of 1200 words and the paid version for up to 6000 words.
6. Citation Generator
This tool allows you to quickly generate citations and add them to your text. All you have to do is put in a link and it’ll gather all the necessary information. And if it can’t find them, you always have the option to add them in manually.
It’s definitely useful, though there’s not much difference to this tool compared to other citation generators on the internet. Perhaps its biggest advantage is that it’s packaged alongside other useful tools, saving you time with your writing process.
7. Extensions
To further streamline its use, Quillbot supports several extensions including Chrome, Google Docs, and Microsoft Word. They’re pretty straightforward to use and easy to install.
Pros and Cons
Here are a few advantages and disadvantages that I noticed when trying out QuillBot.
Pros
- Excellent free version—Without having to pay anything, you already have access to a ton of useful features that’ll benefit both occasional and dedicated users.
- Clean, straightforward interface—There’s virtually no obstacle to learning how to use QuillBot. Everything is intuitive, well-explained, and easy to find.
- Easy integration—Apart from easy installation, the fact that you can use it in conjunction with three commonly-used products eliminates the frustration of switching tabs, frequent copy and pasting, and other processes that drain away time.
- Affordable—AI tools can be expensive, especially the more features they have. QuillBot offers a lot of tools for quite an affordable price. The annual plan, its most affordable option, costs less than 10$ a month.
Cons
- Premium version still has limited tools—It’s a bummer that some of QuillBot’s tools still have limited functions even though you’ve paid for the whole thing.
- Vague outputs from paraphrasing tool—Sometimes it provides you vague outputs or content that no longer aligns with the original text’s meaning.
- Tools aren’t impressive on their own—While its features are great, they don’t really stand out when compared to other, similar tools. Especially the grammar checker, which I think isn’t as good as that of ProWritingAid or Grammarly.
Is QuillBot worth it?
Overall, QuillBot is an excellent and affordable option when it comes to AI writing tools. It offers a lot of features that can help you streamline your writing process, though a few are, admittedly, limited even if you avail of their premium version.
However, while it is a pretty good all-around writing assistant, it’s not suited for all writers. Because of its word and page limits, it’s not great for bulk work or long-form content. This makes it less useful for authors and more suited for article and academic writers.
What do you think of QuillBot? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Cole is a blog writer and aspiring novelist. He has a degree in Communications and is an advocate of media and information literacy and responsible media practices. Aside from his interest in technology, crafts, and food, he’s also your typical science fiction and fantasy junkie, spending most of his free time reading through an ever-growing to-be-read list. It’s either that or procrastinating over actually writing his book. Wish him luck!
